Monocrystalline diamond detector for online monitoring during synchrotron microbeam radiotherapy.

Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT) is a radiotherapy technique combining spatial fractionation of the dose distribution on a micrometric scale, X-rays in the 50-500 keV range and dose rates up to 16 × 103 Gy s-1. Nowadays, in vivo dosimetry remains a challenge due to the ultra-high radiation fluxes involved and the need for high-spatial-resolution detectors. The aim here was to develop a striped diamond portal detector enabling online microbeam monitoring during synchrotron MRT treatments. The detector, a 550 µm bulk monocrystalline diamond, is an eight-strip device, of height 3 mm, width 178 µm and with 60 µm spaced strips, surrounded by a guard ring. An eight-channel ASIC circuit for charge integration and digitization has been designed and tested. Characterization tests were performed at the ID17 biomedical beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The detector measured direct and attenuated microbeams as well as interbeam fluxes with a precision level of 1%. Tests on phantoms (RW3 and anthropomorphic head phantoms) were performed and compared with simulations. Synchrotron radiation measurements were performed on an RW3 phantom for strips facing a microbeam and for strips facing an interbeam area. A 2% difference between experiments and simulations was found. In more complex geometries, a preliminary study showed that the absolute differences between simulated and recorded transmitted beams were within 2%. Obtained results showed the feasibility of performing MRT portal monitoring using a microstriped diamond detector. Online dosimetric measurements are currently ongoing during clinical veterinary trials at ESRF, and the next 153-strip detector prototype, covering the entire irradiation field, is being finalized at our institution.

Imaging of polychromatic sources through Compton spectral reconstruction.

Objective.Study the performance of a spectral reconstruction method for Compton imaging of polychromatic sources and compare it to standard Compton reconstruction based on the selection of photopeak events.Approach.The proposed spectral and the standard photopeak reconstruction methods are used to reconstruct images from simulated sources emitting simultaneously photons of 140, 245, 364 and 511 keV. Data are simulated with perfect and realistic energy resolutions and including Doppler broadening. We compare photopeak and spectral reconstructed images both qualitatively and quantitatively by means of activity recovery coefficient and spatial resolution.Main results.The presented method allows improving the images of polychromatic sources with respect to standard reconstruction methods. The main reasons for this improvement are the increase of available statistics and the reduction of contamination from higher initial photon energies. The reconstructed images present lower noise, higher activity recovery coefficient and better spatial resolution. The improvements become more sensible as the energy resolution of the detectors decreases.Significance.Compton cameras have been studied for their capability of imaging polychromatic sources, thus allowing simultaneous imaging of multiple radiotracers. In such scenarios, Compton images are conventionally reconstructed for each emission energy independently, selecting only those measured events depositing a total energy within a fixed window around the known emission lines. We propose to employ a spectral image reconstruction method for polychromatic sources, which allows increasing the available statistics by using the information from events with partial energy deposition. The detector energy resolution influences the energy window used to select photopeak events and therefore the level of contamination by higher energies. The spectral method is expected to have a more important impact as the detector resolution worsens. In this paper we focus on energy ranges from nuclear medical imaging and we consider realistic energy resolutions.

Relative stopping power resolution in time-of-flight proton CT.

Objective.Proton computed tomography (CT) is similar to x-ray CT but relies on protons rather than photons to form an image. In its most common operation mode, the measured quantity is the amount of energy that a proton has lost while traversing the imaged object from which a relative stopping power map can be obtained via tomographic reconstruction. To this end, a calorimeter which measures the energy deposited by protons downstream of the scanned object has been studied or implemented as energy detector in several proton CT prototypes. An alternative method is to measure the proton's residual velocity and thus its kinetic energy via the time of flight (TOF) between at least two sensor planes. In this work, we study the RSP resolution, seen as image noise, which can be expected from TOF proton CT systems.Approach.We rely on physics models on the one hand and statistical models of the relevant uncertainties on the other to derive closed form expressions for the noise in projection images. The TOF measurement error scales with the distance between the TOF sensor planes and is reported as velocity error in ps/m. We use variance reconstruction to obtain noise maps of a water cylinder phantom given the scanner characteristics and additionally reconstruct noise maps for a calorimeter-based proton CT system as reference. We use Monte Carlo simulations to verify our model and to estimate the noise due to multiple Coulomb scattering inside the object. We also provide a comparison of TOF helium and proton CT.Main results.We find that TOF proton CT with 30 ps m-1velocity error reaches similar image noise as a calorimeter-based proton CT system with 1% energy error (1 sigma error). A TOF proton CT system with a 50 ps m-1velocity error produces slightly less noise than a 2% calorimeter system. Noise in a reconstructed TOF proton CT image is spatially inhomogeneous with a marked increase towards the object periphery. Our modelled noise was consistent with Monte Carlo simulated images. TOF helium CT offers lower RSP noise at equal fluence, but is less advantageous at equal imaging dose.Significance.This systematic study of image noise in TOF proton CT can serve as a guide for future developments of this alternative solution for estimating the residual energy of protons and helium ions after the scanned object.

Energy-adaptive calculation of the most likely path in proton CT.

This note addresses an issue faced by every proton computed tomography (CT) reconstruction software: the modelling and the parametrisation of the multiple Coulomb scattering power for the estimation of the most likely path (MLP) of each proton. The conventional approach uses a polynomial model parameterised as a function of depth for a given initial beam energy. This makes it cumbersome to implement a software that works for proton CT data acquired with an arbitrary beam energy or with energy modulation during acquisition. We propose a simple way to parametrise the scattering power based on the measured proton CT list-mode data only and derive a compact expression for the MLP based on a conventional MLP model. Our MLP does not require any parameter. The method assumes the imaged object to be homogeneous, as most conventional MLPs, but requires no information about the material as opposed to most conventional MLP expressions which often assume water to infer energy loss. Instead, our MLP automatically adapts itself to the energy-loss which actually occurred in the object and which is one of the measurements required for proton CT reconstruction. We validate our MLP method numerically and find excellent agreement with conventional MLP methods.

Influence of sub-nanosecond time of flight resolution for online range verification in proton therapy using the line-cone reconstruction in Compton imaging.

Online ion range monitoring in hadron therapy can be performed via detection of secondary radiation, such as promptγ-rays, emitted during treatment. The promptγemission profile is correlated with the ion depth-dose profile and can be reconstructed via Compton imaging. The line-cone reconstruction, using the intersection between the primary beam trajectory and the cone reconstructed via a Compton camera, requires negligible computation time compared to iterative algorithms. A recent report hypothesised that time of flight (TOF) based discrimination could improve the precision of theγfall-off position (FOP) measured via line-cone reconstruction, where TOF comprises both the proton transit time from the phantom entrance untilγemission, and the flight time of theγ-ray to the detector. The aim of this study was to implement such a method and investigate the influence of temporal resolution on the precision of the FOP. Monte Carlo simulations of a 160 MeV proton beam incident on a homogeneous PMMA phantom were performed using GATE. The Compton camera consisted of a silicon-based scatterer and CeBr3scintillator absorber. The temporal resolution of the detection system (absorber + beam trigger) was varied between 0.1 and 1.3 ns rms and a TOF-based discrimination method applied to eliminate unlikely solution(s) from the line-cone reconstruction. The FOP was obtained for varying temporal resolutions and its precision obtained from its shift across 100 independentγemission profiles compared to a high statistics reference profile. The optimal temporal resolution for the given camera geometry and 108primary protons was 0.2 ns where a precision of 2.30 ± 0.15 mm (1σ) on the FOP was found. This precision is comparable to current state-of-the-art Compton imaging using iterative reconstruction methods or 1D imaging with mechanically collimated devices, and satisfies the requirement of being smaller than the clinical safety margins.

A time-of-flight-based reconstruction for real-time prompt-gamma imaging in proton therapy.

We propose a novel prompt-gamma (PG) imaging modality for real-time monitoring in proton therapy: PG time imaging (PGTI). By measuring the time-of-flight (TOF) between a beam monitor and a PG detector, our goal is to reconstruct the PG vertex distribution in 3D. In this paper, a dedicated, non-iterative reconstruction strategy is proposed (PGTI reconstruction). Here, it was resolved under a 1D approximation to measure a proton range shift along the beam direction. In order to show the potential of PGTI in the transverse plane, a second method, based on the calculation of the centre of gravity (COG) of the TIARA pixel detectors' counts was also explored. The feasibility of PGTI was evaluated in two different scenarios. Under the assumption of a 100 ps (rms) time resolution (achievable in single proton regime), MC simulations showed that a millimetric proton range shift is detectable at 2σwith 108incident protons in simplified simulation settings. With the same proton statistics, a potential 2 mm sensitivity (at 2σwith 108incident protons) to beam displacements in the transverse plane was found using the COG method. This level of precision would allow to act in real-time if the treatment does not conform to the treatment plan. A worst case scenario of a 1 ns (rms) TOF resolution was also considered to demonstrate that a degraded timing information can be compensated by increasing the acquisition statistics: in this case, a 2 mm range shift would be detectable at 2σwith 109incident protons. By showing the feasibility of a time-based algorithm for the reconstruction of the PG vertex distribution for a simplified anatomy, this work poses a theoretical basis for the future development of a PG imaging detector based on the measurement of particle TOF.

Biomedical Research Programs at Present and Future High-Energy Particle Accelerators.

Biomedical applications at high-energy particle accelerators have always been an important section of the applied nuclear physics research. Several new facilities are now under constructions or undergoing major upgrades. While the main goal of these facilities is often basic research in nuclear physics, they acknowledge the importance of including biomedical research programs and of interacting with other medical accelerator facilities providing patient treatments. To harmonize the programs, avoid duplications, and foster collaboration and synergism, the International Biophysics Collaboration is providing a platform to several accelerator centers with interest in biomedical research. In this paper, we summarize the programs of various facilities in the running, upgrade, or construction phase.

A Study of the Radiation Tolerance of CVD Diamond to 70 MeV Protons, Fast Neutrons and 200 MeV Pions.

We measured the radiation tolerance of commercially available diamonds grown by the Chemical Vapor Deposition process by measuring the charge created by a 120 GeV hadron beam in a 50 µm pitch strip detector fabricated on each diamond sample before and after irradiation. We irradiated one group of samples with 70 MeV protons, a second group of samples with fast reactor neutrons (defined as energy greater than 0.1 MeV), and a third group of samples with 200 MeV pions, in steps, to (8.8±0.9) × 1015 protons/cm2, (1.43±0.14) × 1016 neutrons/cm2, and (6.5±1.4) × 1014 pions/cm2, respectively. By observing the charge induced due to the separation of electron-hole pairs created by the passage of the hadron beam through each sample, on an event-by-event basis, as a function of irradiation fluence, we conclude all datasets can be described by a first-order damage equation and independently calculate the damage constant for 70 MeV protons, fast reactor neutrons, and 200 MeV pions. We find the damage constant for diamond irradiated with 70 MeV protons to be 1.62±0.07(stat)±0.16(syst)× 10-18 cm2/(p µm), the damage constant for diamond irradiated with fast reactor neutrons to be 2.65±0.13(stat)±0.18(syst)× 10-18 cm2/(n µm), and the damage constant for diamond irradiated with 200 MeV pions to be 2.0±0.2(stat)±0.5(syst)× 10-18 cm2/(π µm). The damage constants from this measurement were analyzed together with our previously published 24 GeV proton irradiation and 800 MeV proton irradiation damage constant data to derive the first comprehensive set of relative damage constants for Chemical Vapor Deposition diamond. We find 70 MeV protons are 2.60 ± 0.29 times more damaging than 24 GeV protons, fast reactor neutrons are 4.3 ± 0.4 times more damaging than 24 GeV protons, and 200 MeV pions are 3.2 ± 0.8 more damaging than 24 GeV protons. We also observe the measured data can be described by a universal damage curve for all proton, neutron, and pion irradiations we performed of Chemical Vapor Deposition diamond. Finally, we confirm the spatial uniformity of the collected charge increases with fluence for polycrystalline Chemical Vapor Deposition diamond, and this effect can also be described by a universal curve.

Assessment of Geant4 Prompt-Gamma Emission Yields in the Context of Proton Therapy Monitoring.

Monte Carlo tools have been long used to assist the research and development of solutions for proton therapy monitoring. The present work focuses on the prompt-gamma emission yields by comparing experimental data with the outcomes of the current version of Geant4 using all applicable proton inelastic models. For the case in study and using the binary cascade model, it was found that Geant4 overestimates the prompt-gamma emission yields by 40.2 ± 0.3%, even though it predicts the prompt-gamma profile length of the experimental profile accurately. In addition, the default implementations of all proton inelastic models show an overestimation in the number of prompt gammas emitted. Finally, a set of built-in options and physically sound Geant4 source code changes have been tested in order to try to improve the discrepancy observed. A satisfactory agreement was found when using the QMD model with a wave packet width equal to 1.3 fm(2).

Probabilistic models and numerical calculation of system matrix and sensitivity in list-mode MLEM 3D reconstruction of Compton camera images.

This paper addresses the problem of evaluating the system matrix and the sensitivity for iterative reconstruction in Compton camera imaging. Proposed models and numerical calculation strategies are compared through the influence they have on the three-dimensional reconstructed images. The study attempts to address four questions. First, it proposes an analytic model for the system matrix. Second, it suggests a method for its numerical validation with Monte Carlo simulated data. Third, it compares analytical models of the sensitivity factors with Monte Carlo simulated values. Finally, it shows how the system matrix and the sensitivity calculation strategies influence the quality of the reconstructed images.